After informing my squad of our mission. Quite a few curses could be heard coming from our direction. Some of the soldiers passing shot us strange looks, but we were too annoyed to care. After letting my friends vent their frustration, I sent them away to get ready. While I went to the quarter master to see about getting some extra provisions. The quarter master was a portly fellow with a thick mustache and graying hair. His face looked like he swallowed something sour, and his expression got stuck. A light smile appeared on my face at the familiarity of the situation. "The fuck are you smiling at? I know I'm attractive, but I don't swing that way." A shrewd grin split his features.
My eyebrows rose ever so slightly at his statement. "Alas, neither do I, quarter master…"
"Sullivan," he responded shortly. "Unfortunately, Mr Sullivan, I am here on business. I need to know what type of explosives you have in stock." I did not imagine that his smile would grow even wider at the mention of explosives.
"And, what pray tell do you need these explosives for?" His voice was devoid of any false civility.
"Well, my squad and I have been assigned to take out the siege engines. So I need something with quite the kick." His eyes were practically glowing at this point. I counted my lucky stars that the quarter master seemed to be a pyromaniac.
"That depends on the result you want. I have quite a few babies with the power to knock a dragon on its ass. But the setup would take too long. I'm assuming you need something with decent strength while maintaining a short setup time." He said all of this while rummaging through an inconspicuous box with a burning skull on its label. After a while, he took out a flask filled with a neon green liquid. "Ah, this is the one. We call it dragon fire; it's an alchemical solution. When it comes into contact with fire. This baby can burn through solid dwarven steel. It's relatively simple to use. You just douse whatever you want gone with this and set it on fire to watch the show. We only have five bottles in stock, so use them sparingly." He warned before handing me the vials.
After thanking him, I left for my own tent to prepare for the battle to come.
—-
We stood outside the stone walls on the eastern side of the fortress. Bjorn stood to my left, constantly shifting his weight from leg to leg. The nervousness of my squad was palpable, yet there was nothing I could do to alleviate it. 'Are you finally going to tell me what the spell does?' I asked Aeron.
"You will see soon enough that there is no point in ruining the surprise." He spoke as vaguely as ever. Where in the past I would not have minded, now it pissed me off slightly. I needed to know what advantages I have for the battle. Speaking of the battle, we could already see the Yemeni warriors approaching on the horizon. By my estimates, they would arrive within the next hour. The vanguard stood directly opposing the enemy soldiers. Shields and short spears in hand. They were the first line of defense when the battle began.
Seeing no reason to waste time, I turned to my friends. "Let's get out of view. Our job is to act as saboteurs. We can't do that when they can see us coming." Although everyone was nervous, everyone nodded in agreement. Except Jurgen, he stood in place, his eyes glued to the incoming army. Placing my hand on his shoulder, I asked. "Are you okay?" Only now did I see his dazed look, and the slight shiver that passed through his body.
My question shook him out of his reverie. "My apologies, but the last time I saw an army of this size was when the church came to slaughter my people." His voice was practically dripping with melancholy.
"You are not the same boy who could do nothing but watch. Our job is important; without us, many fathers and sons will lose their lives." I strengthened my grip on his shoulder slightly as I looked into his eyes reassuringly.
I saw as his resolve grew and his gaze turned steel. "You are correct, of course." Jurgen gave a short bow before joining the others behind the cover of the trees. Casting a final glance at the army, I myself went behind cover.
When the army finally arrived, they stopped a few hundred meters from the vanguard. I watched as a group departed from both armies and met in the center. It was a peculiar tradition of this world. Where the commanders of each force would share a glass of wine as a show of honor before the battle began. The brief exchange did not last long. Whatever words were spoken between the commanders were carried away by the wind before they could reach us. The two groups separated without ceremony, each returning to their respective lines with the same measured pace they had approached with.
For a single moment, the battlefield fell silent. Then the first horn sounded. It was low and guttural, a sound that seemed to vibrate through bone rather than air. A second followed, sharper, more aggressive. The response from our side came immediately after. The call to arms echoed across the open field, and just like that, the illusion of civility shattered.
"Shields!" someone in the vanguard roared.
The Yemeni army moved first. Massive siege engines stationed behind their lines groaned as they were brought to life. Thick ropes strained, wood creaked under pressure, and then it released.
The sky darkened for a fraction of a second as large flaming boulders were hurled into the air. Trails of fire followed in their wake as they arced downward toward the vanguard.
"Brace!" The first impact came with a thunderous crash. Stone met the shield wall, and for a moment, the formation buckled. Men were thrown back, lines disrupted, flames licking at armor and flesh alike. Screams rang out as the ground itself seemed to shake beneath the force of the impact. Another boulder followed, then another, each one tearing into the formation, each one threatening to break it apart. Yet it never did. Like iron under a hammer, the vanguard bent, but did not break.
"Hold the line!" the officers shouted.
Shields locked once more. Gaps closed. The formation reformed with brutal efficiency, as if the chaos had never existed at all. Then the infantry advanced. A roar rose from the Yemeni ranks as they surged forward, weapons raised high. The distance between the two armies closed rapidly, boots pounding against the earth in a unified rhythm that mirrored our own. The ground shook like an earthquake from the stomping of thousands of boots charging forward.
"Forward!"
Our side answered in kind. The clash was inevitable. Spells were the first to bridge the gap. Streaks of light tore across the battlefield, crimson, azure, violet, each one carrying destructive intent. Explosions blossomed upon impact, sending dirt and bodies into the air. Bolts of lightning carved jagged paths through the advancing ranks, while waves of fire rolled forward like living beasts. Then steel met steel, and the sound was deafening.
A collision of force and fury as the two sides slammed into one another. Shields splintered. Blades flashed. The ordered lines dissolved into controlled chaos as individual battles erupted across the field.
That was our moment.
"Move," I said quietly.
No one hesitated.
We slipped further away from the main force, keeping low as we moved along the edge of the battlefield. Trees and scattered brush provided just enough cover to conceal our movements. The sounds of battle masked our presence completely. Step by step, we advanced. The enemy flank grew closer with each passing second. From this angle, I could see the rear lines more clearly, the support units, the siege crews, and the ones responsible for the barrage that had nearly broken our vanguard.
Raising my hand to signal my squad."Stay low." I murmured. As we came to a standstill, observing the enemy's movement. There were four trebuchets and three catapults in a semicircle formation. Ten soldiers were stationed at every siege engine to protect not only the equipment but the crews as well. In total, there were about a hundred men in the area. We watched as they loaded new boulders into the machines, lighting them on fire right before firing. They aimed further in this time so as not to hit their own soldiers. The deafening boom was accompanied by pained screams as the boulders hit.
The ground trembled faintly beneath my feet as the battle raged behind us. Screams, steel, and spellfire blended into a single, chaotic symphony. Yet here, on the edge of it all, there was only silence. We moved like shadows through the trees, closing the distance with deliberate precision. The scent of smoke grew stronger. The heat of the siege engines was now palpable. One thing was certain: this mission was practically suicide. But between dying on a battlefield with a weapon in hand or being court-martialled, the choice was obvious.
{Author's note: If you enjoyed the story so far consider adding it to your collections. It really helps.
Sincerely Sanguine.}